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Choosing the right movie for your little one should not be taken lightly. The best kid friendly scary movies should strike a balance between comedy and family-friendly fear. If you go off the bat, be prepared to hear lots of screams in the middle of the night. Here are 7 kid friendly scary movies that offer doses of adrenaline without being too violent.

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (2019)

Scooby-Doo and the rest of the gang return with a spine-tingling comic. They want to solve one last mystery before going separate ways – it appears to be a haunting mission. This time, the intrepid investigators explore a haunted house inhabited by ghosts.

The gang lures a werewolf into a trap. They clean the mystery machine to capture more monsters, including the creeper, snow ghost, and Spooky Space Kook. As the machine goes backward, it prompts Fred to give chase before discovering it was just a dream. As it turns out, Fred decides to come from retirement, although shaggy and Scooby refuse. The duo makes Daphne and Velma never solve another mystery. The story follows from there.

Kids can expect unusually animated scares – zombies often roam the island, clawed cats with popping eyes, howling, and more. There are narrow escapes, chases, and special effects.

Nightbooks (2021)

This is a book-based fantasy horror movie with lots of scares. The story is about Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories. When no one shows up to a Halloween birthday party, he runs into an apartment building to burn his work. However, the elevator takes him to a different floor with one open room. After getting in, the little boy can’t get out – he’s imprisoned by a diabolical witch in her city apartment.

Every night, the witch wants to hear stories. Now, Alex has to write new ones in her colossal library. If he fails to produce a new story, she threatens to kill him. But with the help of Yasmin (another kid in Natasha’s story), Alex believes he has a chance to escape. These two kids run into things like poison and caves with sculls.

Parents don’t have a lot to worry about Night books. This movie has little cute messages about self-esteem and friendship. That will make your little buddy glued to the screen.

Monsters Inc. (2001)

Monsters Inc. is an animated computer comedy film that introduces kids to a world of monsters. In the beginning, your child may be scared by the movie’s concept but will soon figure out the monster is a softy who takes care of a little girl.

The animated feature is Toy Story. These are monsters that scare but don’t harm kids. They are terrified of a child’s touch. There’s one moment when a monster is afraid of being trapped on a chair, and the child tries to steal her screams. Another one gets a child sock and panics. Young kids should understand what the monsters in yellow can do to them.

The monsters in the movie vary in terms of size, shape, and creepiness. Some have one eye; others have crab legs. Others are furry with horns, and a few are invisible.

At one time, some monsters and a girl ride the roller coaster style – with a few near falls. The girl hits the monster with a bat, but the monsters start beating the other with a shovel. Then, they enter a doorway that leads them to a secret room. A snowman appears, and the monsters decide to put their teeth to the test. Then, they hear some children crying.

The monsters will scare your kids but also pack the right amount of horror to keep the little ones at the edge of their seats.

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

This movie features two stars Pepe and Gonzo, who stay in a haunted mansion all night. The two spend an entire night at the Great McGuffin, a castle of a legendary magician. Then, some guests meander through labyrinthine doors, hoping to rub shoulders with some celebrities. Then, some blood-chilling events occur. What have Pepe and Gonzo gotten into this time? Will they stay in the Muppet Haunted Mansion or stay alive in the most dangerous place on earth?

As gonzo goes to the room, Pepe is entranced by the ghost who plans to kill her past husband. Gonzo is trapped in room 999 and faces the biggest fear of doing dangerous stunts. As he turns old, his reflection taunts him. He later realizes that he can be old by being gonzo. Then, the room de-ages and releases him.

The host congratulates gonzo. But after learning that Pepe was in trouble, Gonzo refuses to leave without him. The moral lesson of the story is that Muppets are a family despite their differences.

The Muppets Haunted Mansion movie is kid-friendly. While children under four years may find the movie scary, there are funny moments for most kids to watch. Just make sure the little ones are not too curious to look under the bed.

Coraline (2009)

This is an animated movie with thrilling sound effects. It’s great for kids that like 3D effects. The film is guided by the storybook by Neil Gaiman. One feature that makes Coraline unique is that so much love has gone into the visuals.

The ghosts in Coraline like to replace eyes with grotesque images and sewn-on buttons. Also, the touch of spookiness is creepy and terrifying.

Coraline is neglected by her parents and moves to a new house. At night, she can find parallel worlds where everyone has buttons instead of eyes. Another mother invites Coraline to stay, but she refuses. Her only trick is to lure her.

Wybie (Coraline’s neighbor) gives her an old doll from her grandmother’s attic. Surprisingly, the spy-like creature looks like Coraline. The hand-crafted doll lures them into presenting the wonderful things they feel could be missing. Coraline finds himself in the middle of life she has always wished for. She has parents that cook for her and gives more pleasing versions to the neighbors.

As Coraline revisits the parallel world, she realizes things don’t appear as they should. She soon finds herself struggling and later returns to real life.

Goosebumps (2015)

Goosebumps is the king of kid friendly scary movies. Goosebumps is a live-action comedy with some action and humor. This movie is certainly meant to scare kids aged 5 to 7 years. It balances scary moments and some comic relief. For particularly sensitive children, this movie balances characters and imagery.

The plot is about a teenager who moves with the daughter of young adult horror. And the imagery demons are set free. After moving to a new town, Zack Cooper meets a next-door neighbor, Hannah. He learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad, an author of the best-selling Goosebumps series.

As it turns out, there’s a reason why Stine is so strange and a prisoner of his imagination. Stine protects the readers by keeping them hooked on the books. Then, Zach unleashes the monsters from the manuscripts as they terrorize the town. It’s up to Hannah, Zack, and Stine to put all the monsters back in their books.

Zach moves to New York where his window mother is a principal of a local high school. He’s bored and decides to visit Hannah. The creepy father (Stine) threatens Zach not to get close to his daughter. Zach believes Hannah’s father is abusive and breaks into the house to seek Hannah. Soon he learns that Zach is a famous writer of popular stories – the movie continues from there.

Goosebumps is not your usual bedtime horror story; it will keep your kids up all night. It suits folks looking for some flight factor and goose bump sensation.

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005)

The storyline of this movie dates back to the 1800s. It features a man (Victor) and a woman (Victoria) in a Village. Although they like each other, Victor is nervous about the ceremony. He finds himself in a forest practicing the lines, but a tree brunch drags him to the land of the dead. It belongs to Emmy who gets murdered after eloping with her love. The young man is compelled to marry someone he has never met. She wants Victor. But victor must get back to victoria before she marries Barkin’s Bittern. At this point, Victor must choose between the two brides. Who will he marry?

Emily introduces her new husband to other corpses wandering in various degrees of decay. But since victor is still breathing, that doesn’t concern those sitting in a bar setting. They still bear the weapons that caused their demise.

This movie introduces characters in their afterlife spirits. At one point, the dead meet and enjoy a happy reunion. Victor learns that the real power of love is not in appearances. He wanders around the afterworld for several minutes.

Corpse Bride features comically -twisted characters and a sense of cheek-in-fun.

While there are some nods to tongue-in-cheek jokes, this is an awesome movie for the whole family. There are references to maggots, bones, and death. The Halloween moments are great for the kids.

Wrap up

The best kid friendly scary movies will give your kids a thrill without scaring them for life. Our favorites hit that sweet spot for kids of all ages. They pack the right amount of fun to ensure the kids are ready for bed.

Side Note: If you are looking for a kid friendly scary stories podcast look no further than our Camp Redrum podcast. Take a break from the screen and dive into the world of Eli Jackson a janitor who got stuck in a time loop at an abandoned summer camp from the 1980’s. Every episode is like watching a movie with your ears!

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